Where Did You Go 2013?

I was going through some old boxes today and took a stroll down memory lane.  I read a letter that my friend had written to me when I went away to college and as I was reading, I realized that I had forgotten about a lot of the inside jokes we had, things we had done or talked about, etc.  I realized that if it hadn't been for a friend recording these things, I would have forgotten a lot of the fun things I did in high school.  It also made me realize that because I haven't been faithful in recording in a journal or on this blog that the daily happenings in my family's life are also being forgotten.  So this is my attempt to summarize the past year (with lots of pictures). My apologies. Ahem. Okay, here we go.

January was full of fun! Liesl was getting bigger and doing more things, like eating solids for the first time. Jaren really dove into BIG books. Haydn learned to ride a scooter, and Dallin just had fun!

Valentine's Day, 100th day of school and President's Day weekend in Utah. We had some snow time fun on BYU campus as well as some family time with the Wheeler's. (Silly of me not to take any photos with them.) Thanks again Lauren and Shawn for letting us crash at your place and shovel your driveway.

March brought us visits from our family, a promotion, and Easter with our cousins.

Not much happened in April. Oh wait a minute! Dallin turned 6!

May was busy with school music programs, exploring Las Vegas, kids growing and being goofy, and George's 35th birthday.

June began with Kindergarten graduation, school getting out, a trip to Utah to say goodbye to Caitlyn and Chris, hiking in Utah with our cousins, a trip from Kellen and Angel, and my 33rd birthday. It was definitely a fun month!

July was nonstop fun going to as many splash pads as we could, swimming at the pool, karate lessons, 4th of July festivities, Haydn's birthday (on the 4th), a lua, making slime, visits from friends and family, mermaids, parades, and Liesl finally learned how to crawl at 10.5 months.

We began August with yet another trip to Utah.  My Mom and my brother were both going to be in town for several cousins' weddings. Since we are close enough, it was a great opportunity to see family.  All of the Park cousins were together, which was so fun to watch. Not long after we returned home, Albert and Camille came with their family to visit.  It was short, but we were able to go to Shark Reef with them which is always fun.  On the 18th, George and I celebrated 13 years of marriage (Yikes, we're old!). Three days later, Liesl turned 1 year old.  She loved eating her giant cupcake! The last week of August brought us to the conclusion of summer. School began with Jaren starting 3rd grade and Dallin in 1st.  Dallin had a special schultute to bring on the 1st day of school, a German tradition we are trying to maintain with all of our 1st graders. We sure had a busy and fun summer!

September was filled with tons of activities.  We started all three boys in soccer this fall, so we had 3 practices and 3 games each week. Thank goodness practice was only once a week, otherwise I would have been toast! Haydn started preschool this month too.  Now that three kids are in school, I have found myself with a little extra time.  I started running  and cross-stitching again.  Those two things ate up a lot of my spare time, which wasn't much. Lastly, George was in charge of an Air Force ball which I was able to attend for a few hours. He did a great job. In between it all, we survived and had a great month!

We just never seem to slow down. October was super busy with soccer games, a surprise visit from Uncle Albert, several pumpkin patch excursions, trunk-or-treating, trick-or-treating, Saints and Sinners Half-Marathon and Fun Run and everyday activities. During this time, Liesl began to ride her bike, perfect the Capoiera crawl, and climb up and down stairs. As far as weather goes, Autumn is beautiful here! I won't complain.

November brought us the end of the soccer season.  Jaren and Dallin's teams both competed in a tournament and got 2nd place!  Liesl and Haydn had fun at home riding  their (relatively) new bikes, and Jaren turned 9 on November 24th.  For Thanksgiving this year, we flew to Washington.  It had been 14 years since I last spent a Thanksgiving there and it was perfect.  Also, I was able to visit with my Grandma Martha as she lives with my parents.  She's getting really old and not doing so well, but she still has her sense of humor.

December was a crazy and fun month! With decorating the house, sending out Christmas cards, and all the preparation for Christmas, plus our Advent Sunday tradition of inviting other families to join us for hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and stories, we were plenty busy.  We also made gingerbread houses, walked around Ethel M's Christmas light garden, went to school Christmas programs and ward Christmas parties.  In addition, I was cross-stitching Haydn's stocking around the clock to be ready for Christmas day (it's finished just not sewn).  The day after Christmas, we were able to go on a family hike to Sloan Canyon and see the "Sistine Chapel" of Native American rock art.  It was pretty cool.  A few days after that, we headed to Utah to spend the last few days of 2013 with my sister and her family.  We were able to go sledding, play all day with cousins, have fun playing Spot It, eat yummy food and ring in the New Year with Lauren and Shawn.